Toe lasting machines



June 4, 1963 c. c. NICKELs TOE LASTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1962 Nix all! .nl

`lune 4,v 1963 Filed Jan. 5, 1962 C. C. NICKELS TOE LASTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 `lune 4, 1963 C, c. NlcKELs 3,091,784

TOE LASTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 4, 1963 c. c. NICKELs 3,091,784

TOE LASTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Si I f @wl-l; l' frm.,

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United States Patent O 3,091,784 TSE LASTIN G MACHINES Clifford C. Nickels, Brownstown, Ill., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Fienlington, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. S, 1962, Ser. No. 164,456 Claims. (Cl. 12-8.2)

This invention relates to toe lasting machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,596,169, granted May 13, 1952, in the names of Leonard E. Proulx and Roscoe L. Hill, modied in some respects as shown in a copending application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 118,579, filed June 21, 1961, in the name of Walter L. Brotchie. lIt will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to embodiment in a toe lasting machine of this particul-ar type or to the exact mechanicalconstruction shown.

In toe lasting machines of the type disclosed in the mentioned patent and application, the upper materials o-f a shoe are shaped to the toe end of -a last by means of a pair ot' toe embracing lWipers and a cooperating retarder which clamps the outsp-read lasting margin of the upper against the wipers as the wipers are moved heightwise of the shoe to wipe and shape the upper materials. At the conclusion of this upwiping operation, the wipers are advanced and closed to wipe the lasting margin inwardly over and to press it firmly .against the bottom `face of the toe end of the insole to which the lasting margin is thus secured by previously applied adhesive. It is a principal object of this invention, to facilitate and to improve the action of the wipers, thus to shape the upper materials during the upwiping action, and to this end in accordance with a feature of this invention, there is provided, in addition to the toe embracing wipers of the toe lasting machine and cooperating retarder, a supplemental wiping means arranged to follow directly behind the wipers and to wipe and to smooth the upper materials during the upwiping operation. More particularly, this supplemental wiping means comprises a flexible toe band formed of suitable material having a relatively low coeic-ient of friction and mounted for yielding movement heightwise of the shoe in response to the heightwise movements of the wipers during the upwiping operation. Conveniently, and as herein illustrated, this supporting means is yieldingly mounted by means of springs on a toe post which is moved heightwise of a shoe presented to the machine to clamp the toe end of the shoe against a shoe rest, thus to position and to hold the shoe in proper heightwise location, relatively to the wipers, during the operation of the machine. Associated with the supporting means of the toe band are abutment members adapted to be engaged by the Wipers in their retracted and lowered positions. Thus, the springs associated with the toe band, which are compressed when the toe post is operated to clamp the shoe against the shoe rest, expand to cause the toe band to move heightwise of the shoe behind the wipers as the wipers are moved upwardly during the upwiping operation. By means of this relatively simple and inexpensive arrangement, the shaping of the upper materials around the toe end of the last is `greatly facilitated and improved.

The .above and other objects and features of the invention will appear in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a View in perspective of a portion of a toe lasting machine provided with the features o-f this invention;

lFIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of substantially the same portion of the machine shown in FIG. 1 with certain parts in vertical section and other-s omitted to simplify the disclosure;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are, respectively, front, side and plan views of the novel toe Aband and toe band mounting; and

FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are a series of views of the operating elements of the machine showing these elements in vertical section and in different positions assumed during the operation of the machine.

-In common with toe lasting machines of the general type shown in the laforementioned patent, the herein illustrated machine is provided with a shoe -rest 10, a toe rest 12, and heel abutment 14, FIG. 2, toe embracing wipers L16, .16, FIG. 1, a retarder member 18, and an insole holddown 20, FIGS. 7-9, which are operated generally in the same manner and by mechanism, not shown but similar to that disclosed in detail in the mentioned patent and application, to which reference may be made for an understanding of the operating mechanism which forms no part of the present invention. Thus, it will be understood that during an automatic operating cycle of the machine, initiated in response to the depression of a foot treadle, not shown but corresponding to the treadle 494 of the mentioned patent, the shoe to be lasted, herein illustrated as including an upper U, assembled on a last L, together with an insole I, is clamped against the shoe rest 11i as a result of the upward movement of the toe rest 12, and is held against heelward movement by means of the heel abutment 14, which, insofar .as the present invention is concerned, may be similar to, and operated by mechanism like, the heel abutment and operating mechanism shown either in the mentioned patent or pending application.

After the shoe has thus been clamped in place, the wipers 16, 16, which are carried on a wiper head 30', FIG. .1, movable heightwise of the shoe, are first advanced from the position shown in FIG. -6 to the position shown in FIG. 7, and then the wiper head 30 is elevated to` move the wipers heightwise of the toe endof the shoe thus to wipe the upper U around the toe end of the last L. During this upwipin-g action, the lasting margin of the upper U is outspread and clamped yieldingly upon the top surfaces of the wipers 16, 16 by means of the retarder 18, so that an upward pull is provided for tensioning the upper about the toe end of the last. As shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings, when the wipers reach the so-called wiping plane, they are advanced and closed to wipe the lasting margin of the upper materials inwardly over and to press the lasting rmargin against the bottom face off the insole (FIG. 9), thereby to secure the lasting margin to the insole in lasted position by .previously applied adhesive. During the aforementioned advancing and closing of the wipers, the retarder 18 and insole holddown 20 are elevated to the positions in which they are shown lin FIG. 9. The operation of the wipers 16, 16, retarder 18', and insole holddown 4briefly outlined above, is exactly the same as that of the machine disclosed in the mentioned patent, to which a reference m-ay be made to a more detailed description of these elements and their operation.

For the purposes of this invention, the shaping of the upper materials around the toe end of the Alast L is facilitated and improved by the provision of an auxiliary or additional upWipin-g means in the form of a toe band 40 which preferably is formed of a pieceof synthetic plastic material having a low coeflicient of friction, e.g., Teflon (polytetrauoroethylene). This toe band, which is bent into a shape to conform lgenerally with the shape of the toe end of the last of the shoes being handled, see FIG. 5, is substantially triangular in cross section to provide a relatively sharp wiping edge 42, FIG. 3, and is supported on a exible band 44 of resilient matenial, such as steel, by means of rivets 46, 46, FIG. 3. The outer edge of the band 40 is rounded off as indicated at 48. The toe post 12, comprises relatively adjustable upper andlower portions 50, 52, the latter of which is provided with a cylindrical recess 54Vby means of lwhich itt is mounted on the upper end of a post 56, FIG. 2, which is operated by mechanism similar to that provided in the machine of the mentioned patent and described in detail in an earlier Patent No. 2,160,846, granted lune 6, 1939 on an application tiled in the name of F. C. Eastman and A. F. Pym. The aforementioned toe band is mounted on the toe rest in the following manner.

Secured to the lower toe rest block 52 are two cross members 60, 62, FIGS. 2 and 4. Extending upwardly through openings in the cross members are four bolts 64, each having a head 66 and a rst nut 68 between which and a cross member, a compression spring 79 is interposed. Clamped against a nut 68 by means of nut 72 are each one of four supporting anges 74 carried by a U- shaped supporting member 76. This supporting member is formed With three inwardly projecting flanges 78, 78, 78 on which the llexible steel band 44 rests, FIG. 3. Extending outwardly from the band 44 are tive guide pins 80 which project through clearance openings 82 in the supporting member 76, and interposed between fthe band 44 and the member 76 and surrounding these pins are com- 4 positions, FIG. 2, thus releasing the shoe for removal from the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a mach-ine for lasting lthe toe end or" a shoe having a shoe rest, a toe rest Ymounted for movement to clamp the toe end of the shoe assembled on its last against the shoe rest, toe embracing wipers carried by a wiper head mounted for movement heightwise of a shoe clamped against the shoe rest, and means for effecting such heightwise movement of the wiper head to cause the wipers to wipe the upper materials of a shoe clamped pression springs 83, FIG. 5 Secured to the band 76 and extending outwardly therefrom are two abutment flanges 84, 84, FIG. 5, the upper surfaces of which lie just slightly below the lower faces of the wipers 16, 16.

As will be apparent in PIG. 6, when a shoe to be lasted is presented to the machine its toe end is brought into engagement with the retarder 18 and the bottom face of its insole I is held up against the shoe rest 10u At this time, the toe rest 12 and accordingly the toe band 4G are in their lowermost positions, see `FIG. l. Also, the extreme front end of the operating edge of the toe band is located somewhat back from the extreme toe end of the shoe, while the U-shaped opening provided by the toe band is somewhat smaller than the toe end of the shoe shown in broken lines in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Therefore, as the toe rest is elevated to clamp the shoe against the shoe rest, the toe band rises with the toe rest until the abutment flanges 84, 84 engage the underneath sides of the wipers 16, 16, and, as the elevation of the toe rest is completed, the springs 70 are compressed. Now, when the wiper head is swung upwardly, after the wipers 16, 16 have been advanced and closed to the positions shown in FIG. 7, to cause the Wipers to upv/ipe the upper materials and to shape them to the toe end of the last, springs 711 will expand and yieldingly urge the toe band upwardly directly behind the wipers. It Will be understood that in advancing to the positions shown in FIG. 7, the wipers 16', 16 ride over the rounded edge 48 and depress the toe band slightly. Thus, the toe band is pressed upwardly against the wipers by springs 70. As the toe band is thus yieldingly moved upwardly, from the position shown in lFIG. 46 to the position shown in-FIG. 8, it is spread apart, against the yieldable resistance of the band of resilient material 44, and springs 8f3 at the sides of the band, and is forced yieldingly toe-ward against the resistance of the spring 83 at the extreme toe end of the band. Thus, the toe band 40 provides a yielding wiping action on the upper materials, in addition to that of the wipers, which smooths the material and removes all folds or Wrinkles which may be formed therein by the wipers. As in the machine of the Proulx et al. patent, the wipers are now first advanced Iand closed to wipe the lasting margin of the upper materials inwardly over the toe end of tbe insole I and next are moved downwardly to exert pressure on the lasting margin to press it against the insole to cause it to adhere thereto. During the remaining portion of the automatic operating cycle of the machine, the various operating elements are returned toY their original against the shoe -rest around the toe end Iof the last, a rtoe band shaped to embrace the toe end of the shoe being lasted, and means for moving the toe iband yieldingly upwardly, directly beneath the wipers, in response to the upward movement of ythe wipers with the wiper head.

2. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having a shoe rest, a .toe rest mounted for movement to clamp the toe end of the shoe assembled on its last against the shoe rest, toe embracing wipers carried by a wiper head mounted for movement heightwise of -a shoe clamped against the shoe rest, and means for effecting such heightwise movement of the wiper head to cause the wipers to wipe the lupper materials of a shoe clamped against the shoe `rest around the toe end of the last, a toe band shaped to embrace the toe end ofthe shoe being lasted, and means including springs for moving the toe band yieldinglyy upwardly directly beneath the wipers, in response to upward movement of the wipers with the wiper head.

3. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having a shoe rest, a toe Vrest mounted for movement to clamp the toe end of the shoe assembled on its last against the shoe rest, toe embracing wipers carried by a wiper -head mounted for movement heightwise 'of a shoe clamped against the shoe rest, and means for effecting `such heightwise movement of the wiper head to cause the wipers to wipe the upper materials of a shoe clamped against the 4shoe rest around the -toe end of the last, a toe band shaped to embrace the toe end of the shoe being lasted, means for mounting the toe band beneath said Wipers for yielding movement in a direction away from the shoe rest, land abutment means associated with the toe band `adapted to be engaged by the wipers tor arresting movement of the toe band in a direction toward the shoe rest, said mounting means bei-ng adapted to effect heightwise movement of the toe band lfor wiping the upper material of the shoe around the toe end of the last, directly behind the wipers, in response to heightwise movement of the wipers by the wiper head.

4. In :a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having aV shoe rest, a toe Irest mounted for movement to clamp the toe end of the shoe assembled on its last against the shoe rest, toe embracing wipers carried by ya wiper head mounted for movement heightwise of la shoe clamped 4against the shoe rest, -and'means for effec-ting such heightwise movement of the wiper head to cause the wipers to wipe the upper materials of a shoe clamped against the shoe rest around the toe end of the last, a toe band shaped to embrace the toe end of the shoe being lasted, means including springs for mounting the toe baud beneath said wipers for yielding movement in 4a direction away from the shoe rest, an abutment means associated with the toe band adapted to be engaged by the Wipers for arresting heightwise movement of the toe band in a direction toward the shoe rest, said mounting means being adapted to eiiect heightwise movement of the toe band for wiping the upper of the shoe around the rtoe end of its last, `directly beh-ind the wipers, in response to heightwise movement tot the wipers by the wiper head.

5. In a machine Afor lasting the toe end of a shoe hav- 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR LASTING THE TOE END OF A SHOE HAVING A SHOE REST, A TOE REST MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT TO CLAMP THE TOE END OF THE SHOE ASSEMBLED ON ITS LAST AGAINST THE SHOE REST, TOE EMBRACING WIPERS CARRIED BY A WIPER HEAD MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT HEIGHTWISE OF A SHOE CLAMPED AGAINST THE SHOE REST, AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING SUCH HEIGHTWISE MOVEMENT OF THE WIPER HEAD TO CAUSE THE WIPERS TO WIPE THE UPPER MATERIALS OF A SHOE CLAMPED AGAINST THE SHOE REST AROUND THE TOE END OF THE LAST, A TOE BAND SHAPED TO EMBRACE THE TOE END OF THE SHOE BEING LASTED, AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE TOE BAND YIELDINGLY UPWARDLY, DIRECTLY BENEATH THE WIPERS, IN RESPONSE TO THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE WIPERS WITH THE WIPER HEAD. 